A Little Way Beyond Toro, On The Borders Of The Sea, A
Mountain Begins To Rise By Little And Little; And Thrusting Out A Large
High Cape Or Promontory, Seems To Those In The Town Like Three Great And
Mighty Separate Mountains.
This town of Tor is small but well situated,
all its inhabitants being Christians who speak Arabic.
It has a
monastery of friars of the order of Monserrat, in which is the oracle
or image of Santa Catalina of Mount Sinai or St Catharine. These
friars are all Greeks. The harbour of Toro is not large, but very
secure, having opposite to the shore a long stony bank, between which
and the shore is the harbour. At this place both the coasts of the gulf
are only about three leagues distant.
Being desirous to learn some particulars concerning this country, I made
myself acquainted with the friars, from whom I had the following
information. They told me that Mount Sinai was thirteen small days
journey into the land, or about 18 leagues[319]. The mountain is very
high, the country around being plain and open, having on its borders a
great town inhabited by Christians, into which no Mahometan can enter
except he who gathers the rents and duties belonging to the Turks. On
the top of the mountain is a monastery having many friars, where the
body of the blessed Virgin St Catharine lay buried. According to Anthony
bishop of Florence, the body of this Holy Virgin was carried away by the
angels from the city of Alexandria and buried on Mount Sinai. They told
me farther that about four months before our arrival this most blessed
and holy body was carried from the mountain with great pomp, on a
triumphal chariot all gilt, to the city of Cairo, where the Christians
of that city, which are the bulk of the inhabitants, came out to receive
it in solemn procession, and set it with great honour in a monastery.
The cause of this strange removal was the many insults which the
monastery on Mount Sinai suffered from the Arabs, from whom the friars
and pilgrims had often to redeem themselves with money; of which the
Christians of Cairo complained to the Turkish governor, and received
permission to bring the blessed and holy body to their city, which was
done accordingly, in spite of a strenuous opposition from the friars of
Mount Sinai. I am somewhat doubtful of the truth of this
transportation, suspecting that the friars may have trumped up this
story lest we might have taken the holy body from them, as they expected
us with an army of 10,000 men. Yet they affirmed it for truth,
expressing great sorrow for the removal. These friars told me likewise
that several hermits lead a solitary and holy life in these mountains
over against the town; and that all through the Stony Arabia, there are
many towns of Christians. I asked if they knew where the Jews had passed
the Red Sea; but they knew of no certain place, only that it must have
been somewhere between Toro and Suez.
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